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While she agrees she’s been luckier than many, she
adds that her path to fame hasn’t been rosy. “I’m a pretty
naive person and the entertainment circle made me see a
lot of sides of people. In turn, I grew to appreciate those
who truly mean a lot to me.”
 The sudden limelight and fan attention are things she
has had to get used to. “My friends and family sometimes
feel uneasy about the attention, but it’s difficult to turn
down your fans. I always oblige because I feel bad about
disappointing people, but a friend told me that there’s
only so much I can do.
“One friend said this to me recently: ‘I don’t know
what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying
to please everybody.’”
“I can’t say
I’ve had an easy
life, but it’s
toughened me
up a lot.”
Despite her rising star, Felicia admits she’s a girl-nextdoor
at heart. “I don’t want to feel detached from people,
so I stay grounded by going back to my secondary school
once a month to help out with softball training,” says the
former pitcher for the national softball team.
Unlike other artistes, Felicia has no qualms about
taking the bus or MRT when her eight-month old
Mitsubishi Colt Plus is being serviced. “Like everybody
else, I can take the bus!” she exclaims.
The young starlet is determined
to not let fame get to her head
– after all, her life hasn’t always
been about gala premieres and
luxury handbags.
Felicia lost her father in 2001 to
stomach cancer. Besides having
to cope with his death, she had to
prepare for her A levels the next
year and help support her family
by giving tuition. “I can’t say I’ve
had an easy life, but it’s toughened
me up a lot.”
While she may not have had it easy in the past, she’s
looking forward to a better future, which was part of the
reason she changed her Chinese name in February.
“My original name meant ‘to be burdened from young’,
so a Taiwanese fortune teller gave me a new name
– Chen Jing Xuan, which is supposed to give me a more
smooth-sailing life. It also means pretty.”
With things going her way, Felicia’s ambition is
understandable. Currently filming a 110-episode
Channel 8 drama series, she hopes to eventually cut
an album. With remarkable candour, she says: “I think
I can sing quite well and hope to cut an album after
completing my studies. I can tell my grandchildren that
grandma cut an album!”
She also doesn’t rule out expanding beyond our
shores. “I think we should not always stay in the same
spot. I have to improve a lot more before the chance
comes along, and if it does, I would grab it.”
With Felicia so ready for her big break, we wouldn’t be
surprised to see her star propelled further with a stroke
of luck. Even if it doesn’t, you can bet she’ll come out
stronger. “Even when I fall, I pick myself up. I don’t put
too much stress on myself about the things that I get or
don’t get.” |
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